15 Newarkers split $200K education, job training donation

Mayor Ras J. Baraka, Members of the Newark Municipal Council, L+M Development Partners CEO Ron Moelis, and the Newark Workforce Investment Board (NWIB), presented a $200,000 check to 15 Newark residents to help them complete their education.

NEWARK — Within the next few weeks, 15 city residents will receive a stipend to help them while they are attaining their GED or a Certified Training program.

L+M Development Partners formally presented the $200,000 donation to Mayor Ras Baraka and the Newark Workforce Investment Board Thursday morning at Newark Jobs Connect, an initiative of NWIB, located on Broad Street.

"We need a strong, educated workforce in this community that will be able to take the jobs that are available here and move business and commerce forward in the city of Newark," Baraka said.

"We have set out to ensure that every Newarker has an opportunity at getting a job in this city, and more importantly, that they get trained for jobs in the future," said Rahaman Muhammad, Deputy Mayor of workforce development for the city.

Muhammad said residents will come to them and say, "I understand that I need to get my GED, or I understand that I need training, but I also need to live and I need a job."

"Once they get that job, then they get caught up in a quagmire where a minimum wage job is not providing what they want."

Baraka said it is important to create this stipend for the residents to be able to get the training they need and afford necessary expenses, like buying food for the house or a bus fare.

"We want them to ultimately get into a career path, and that's what the training dollars are about," Muhammad said.

The 15 Newark residents who will be receiving portions of the $200,000 donation are part of the pilot program — the first to receive this particular stipend.

"Thanks to you, and your dedicated staff, I believe that I could achieve my goals in becoming a business owner," one of the stipend recipients said.

One of the goals of the program is to increase the marketability of residents in the workforce. "That's important to all of us in this city as we watch Newark grow, as we watch it transform. We want you to be a part of that transformation and growth," said Baraka.